One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of figuring out when it's the best time to plant balsam is to look at the USDA zone info for Baton Rouge.

Planting Calendar for Balsam

Frost tolerance for balsam:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Balsam require warm weather which means that you have to wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant balsam in Baton Rouge is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant balsam and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your balsam may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your balsam indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Baton Rouge the average date of last frost happens on March 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Baton Rouge is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Baton Rouge last frost occurs after March 15 so always be ready to protect your balsam in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Baton Rouge

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Baton Rouge

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Baton Rouge.